


Definition of friendship

by TFALokiwriter



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Anger, Friendship, Gen, Hate, Lessons, OC, Sad, Starship - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-10
Updated: 2016-01-07
Packaged: 2018-05-01 00:02:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 18,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5184683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TFALokiwriter/pseuds/TFALokiwriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One day, Trelane goes venturing out traveling from reality to reality. Until he sees one he does not like. Christopher Wallis, a private investigatior,had just lost his grandfather and was burning his Star Trek books. Every. single. one. He hated them. Why? His grandfather was  ever-so-engrossed in those books. </p><p>Trelane wanted friendship. </p><p>Wallis wanted family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Loss

"Do you want to be my friend?"

I really didn't want to hear that question.

I turned and saw a man appeared to be familiar. Why was he so familiar?  I frowned back at the man who seemingly was in 18th century attire. _Was this guy a weirdo?_ , I thought. There was something wrong about him but I could not touch it. It was beyond real. Beyond my own comprehension. Asking a question like that on the day of my grandfather's funeral in a cemetery was uncalled for. Very uncalled for.

"No!" I said.

The man looked hurt.

"I just politely asked and this is what I get?" The man asked, briefly closing his eyes. "So much for going out my comfort zone."

I turned away then went back on my way to the car.

Of all the things I had expected of today; this guy topped it all. He was a shady guy who randomly asked a question that normally would be thought of by a child. A damn child. All I could feel at him was anger. I could feel anger toward my other. I stopped at the car then looked over to see the weird guy with a blue coat with golden colors and a white buttoned up shirt with frills around the neck had vanished in thin air. He wasn't there.

I shook my head with a sigh.

"Just my imagination." I told myself.

I open the door then get into the car.

I can still remember the grave marker fresh in my memory.

_George Wrinkler Wallis._

_Born: June 1st, 1964_

_Died September 1st, 2079._

_Beloved father and husband._

And they had to add that damn sign above his name. It was my grandfather's aging 'community fan group' that insisted it be added.  They claimed he told them in private he would prefer to have his grave stone with the marker of what he loved the most. That sign that stood for Star Fleet.

I hate Star Trek.


	2. Burning

That night I decided to burn his books. 

Every one that he had purchased online.

My grandmother took care of me the most after my parents died. Grandfather just went down the hill after my dad died in a car accident. I resented him for not being there when I needed him the most. I recall him sitting down in a chair reading a book with a bookcover and I asked him:

_"Grandpa, what cha' reading?" I asked._

_"Q are cordinillary invited," My grand father said. "Star Trek."_

_I frowned._

_"Are you ever going to take me to a Green Lantern airing?" I asked._

_"No." Grandpa said._

_"Why?" I asked._

_Grandpa lowered his book._

_"We are in tough times. Chris," Grandpa said. "Your grandma and I have agreed to not visit the theater so that means . . . as you are well aware.  . . No direct TV and no DISH." He had lowered his book. "Do you want to hear a scene from Q-Squared?"_

_I frowned._

_"Why not that book you are reading?"  I asked._

_Grandpa smiled._

_"You will understand one day," Grandpa said. "There is a couple scenes in this novel that you might like."_

_And I hated that book.  Grandpa would skip a scene that would mention being adult related and then he skipped a couple pages regarding how the guy went psycho after tapping into the insane asylum of cloud.  Don't get me wrong, the writer has a good narrative but I simply hated it. Probably because I had no idea who these characters were._

My Grandpa purchased fanfiction, online, too.

It was nightfall when I scooted the wheelbarrow down past my garage with books. I stopped at the pile of books then take one out after another. Until I got down to 'I,Q' a story that my grandfather once read regarding this guy named Q searching for his family named Lady Q and q. Though my grandfather skipped a couple scenes when reading to me when we were on the road heading somewhere for the summer. Grandmother was the one who usually drove. I would fall asleep naturally  when Grandfather had got to the ending of the scene where this Q snapped his fingers mentioning it was dramatic.

I tossed the book onto the pile then took out my fireblazer.

Being a Private Investigator comes with its perks.

I started the flame on the pile of books.

I stepped back watching the flames devour the books. I sat down in a lawn chair watching the books burn, and  I thoroughly enjoyed it. I watch the flames taking them in for the hour. It was a delightful hour. Suddenly a figure walked close by the flames, used a walking stick to pull out a book at the edge, then made a weird hand gesture that was flippant. The flames on the books vanished. I got up staring at the man in shock who's face was covered by the book.

"What the hell!" I shouted. "Put that back."

The man turned his head toward me then the night stars brightened. 

"Hello, there, again," The man said. "Wallis."

"You are from the funeral," I said. "Now give it back so I can finish what I started!"

The man shook his head. 

"No, sorry," The man said, holding the book. "You are a sorry excuse for a man who upholds the law."

My hands curled up.

"I am not!" I said. "Who are you?"

The man held the book up.

"Do you recognize me now?" The man asked.

I squint and saw at the bald man's right side was a smiling man resembled that strange man from the funeral.

But seeing him face to face; he looked more older and a lot more mature than the bookcover.

The other side of the bookcover had been scorched off.

"Uh . . ." I said. "No. I don't know who you are."

"Open the book," The man said. "Any page."

I opened the book up, that was remarkably burnt but readable, and opened to a random page.

Page 300.

First line that caught my eye was "Let me go!"

The first name that caught my eye was 'Trelane' and then 'Q'.

I closed the book.

"Q?" I asked.

The man scoffled.

"No, my name is Trelane." Trelane said, with a pat on his chest.

I raised a brow.

"Then who is Q?" I asked.

Trelane picked up a book from the flames with the image of a man holding a bottle with what appears to be universe of some sorts inside.

"This is my father," Trelane said, then he dropped it back into the sorry-ass pile. "I am his first son.  His other son was made to save the continuum. You may know him as q but many refer to him as Q Junior.  . .  And I call him; brother."

I frowned.

"This isn't any of your business to interfere in," I said. "Now give me that book!"

"What did Star Trek ever take from you?" Trelane asked.

"A grandparent." I said.

Trelane looked at me sadly.

"Now about the sorry excuse for a private eye," Trelane said, then he made a ten year old boy with burns all over his face appear. "Burn the books and you kill."

The boy was in front of him tearing up.

"But you are fictional!" I said. "Fictional characters cannot be harmed."

Trelane grew a grim look.

"I want my dad." The boy said.

"Thomas.  . . Thomas. . ." Trelane said. "Your dad and mom is dead." He had both hands on the boy's shoulder. "We may be fictional but that is no way to treat those who have entertained you!" He shook his fist at me. "We may be words of imagination but be burned to death? You could have sold these books! Every book has a life, Mr Wallis."

The boy vanished.

"No, that is not true," I said. "If it were, then we would have advocates or activists against burning books."

"I am their advocate," Trelane said. "You hate our world with a burning passion because your grandfather found another way to grieve!"

"He didn't grieve that way!" I said.

"Yes, he did!" Trelane argued back. "When he was alone reading Q-in law. . .  your grandfather cried, lowered the book on his lap, and cried, that was a week after your parents died! If I am not mistaken you were in school at the time dealing with the grief. His wife came in the room and cried with him, hugging him. You survived that car crash for a reason!"

"I should have died in it!" I said.

"No, don't say that." Trelane said.

"I should have died in it rather than see my grandfather become the way he did." I said.

Trelane stepped forward.

"I don't have a grandfather but I do have a father who is still alive," Trelane said. "One who both hates me and cares about me. But that is a totally different story itself." He had a shrug. "You split families apart in these books by burning them!" He shook the book from side to side leaning forward with the walking stick. "I could just fix that all up by snapping my fingers and restoring them to their former glory." He leaned back to his straight position still holding the book to his side. "You seek answers to mysteries which makes you good at what you do. But no matter what, you have the civil obligation to make sure no one dies because of it!"

I frowned.

"So?" I asked. "How does it connect to me?"

"You hate Star Trek," Trelane said. "And there's a mystery behind it. How does that affect those you care about?"

"Nothing happens." I said.

"Wrong, human," Trelane said. "It does harm." He sounded serious. "No aging, no death for you, and you may seem like you are aging  to other people but you are not." He put the book down on a counter then he approached me with a sincere look in his eyes. "I am taking you to my world."

Then there was a white flash that blinded my vision.


	3. Nose

**. . . 2366. .**

**. . USS Enterprise. .  .**

It was like I had been blind my entire life when really it hadn't. Well, there was this one time I had eye contact lenses that infected my eyes and I had to get  treatment to restore my vision but it left me wearing dark sunglasses for two months. Why wasn't there light? The atmosphere felt light.

"Spock, how did you figure out that they were projecting images of ourselves and that projection of me wasn't . . me?" Came  young man's voice.

"We are relatively the same height,Captain," Spock said. "The projection was off two feet."

"Height . . ." The young man said. "What else?"

"The projection had bright blue eyes," Spock said. "And despite it being surprisingly realistic, you lacked a pinkie finger."

Fun fact; the pinkie finger is strongest part of the hand.  Can't do anything without it.  The pinkie finger has the most strength.  How do I know that? My left pinkie finger was out of service due to me being clumsy by slamming my door into my fingers. That lasted for two weeks but . . . Getting my pinkie finger to work again is a totally different story. So when someone slices off your pinkie finger then you are screwed because it is very vital.

The young man had a short laugh.

Then the darkness vanished abruptly and I land on the floor right on my face.

"Ow." I said.

"That is a unfortunate fall, Mr Wallis," Spock said. "May I suggest you take care of that bloody nose."

I put one finger below my nose then lowered it and saw blood.

I was baffled.

How fast had I fallen?

I recognized Spock from the movies that my grandfather reran when the power had gone  out in the house. Most of my life was spent in Missouri where there are known occurrences of tornadoes, water spouts, terrible hail storms, bad thunderstorms, and absolutely hell.  Spock looked younger, though. That was for sure. I didn't recognize the other man but . . . He had  on a yellow shirt with two bands on the sleeves that had crystal shapes in between them. I step aside apologizing  for my unexpected fall (because it is only polite, right?), though Spock was right about him being the same height. 

How had I recognized Spock?

It's the posture, that uncanny face, those eyebrows, those ears, and that dark hair.

I pretended to know where I was going heading right past.

Then I came to a elevator, or what seemed to be an elevator.

I recalled a hand of advice my grandmother gave to me regarding a bloody nose.

_"Tilt your head up and put some napkins in it, boy!" My grandmother had said._

Then a set of instructions leading to my room landed in my head.

Was that from Trelane?


	4. Sense of knowing

**. . . USS Enterprise . .**

**. . 2265  . . .**

I drummed my fingers on the counter alongside this big bulk of machinery.

"Computer." I said.

"Yes?" The computer replied, sharply.

It threw me off, really.

I never expected a computer to reply back to me like that,really, because laptops have artificial AI's known as Cortana. Cortana sounds like a woman straight out of a video game (Must be halo because I once had a client who ranted about it and Cortana like you wouldn't believe) that had some promotional spots on the TV. Come on, this doesn't have  mind of its own  .  . . perhaps.

"Who is the captain of this ship?" I asked. 

"Captain James T Kirk." The computer said. 

I gasped.

I met Captain Kirk.

It all came back to me.

The movies!

"I am a idiot." I said,rubbing my forehead. "Computer what is my occupation and rank?"

"Security guard, ensign." The computer replied, monotonely. 

No wonder I did not recognize the captain, he was different. This is a entirely different universe. It had to be. I was familiar to those bright blue eyes staring through my soul right off the television screen being cocky, arrogant, and a wannabe captain. There was something different about the captain. He did look handsome and a lot older than the version I had been accustomed to. Spock, though, was easily recognizable. Was it the blue shirt? The hair style? It was the looks. 

I realized then this quarters are much different to how I thought they would appear to be in the movies. The walls were not painted white, in fact they were a light gray.  I was at a desk with a huge machine that really wasn't close to being future-istic. It is like someone made it a lousy excuse to be called a computer when computers bring up files, show pictures on screens, and search the web. 

"Thank you, computer," I said. ". . . Computer.  . . Make me a map of the Enterprise."

Why yes, a man does need his road map around a ship he just got on and everyone talks to him like he has been on there for years. 


	5. To be familar

**. . . Recreation room. . .**

**. . . 2266. . Enterprise . . . One day later . . Deck 3. . .**

I learned I recently was recently assigned last week to the Enterprise. The crew of the Enterprise were rather friendly. It took me a day to find my way around reading the map. I landed in the recreation room, or more like, walked into the room really. Off-duty hours. There were two square holes in the wall that had yellow glass outlined by a light gray film of metal that had a handle to the side. There were several tables in the room. Spock was in a chair strumming what appeared to be a guitar or . . . a banjo? Spock was pretty good at it.

I spotted a woman in a red uniform at a table, alone.

I am not much of a man who has a thing out for women such as take them out or flirt.

But I did need a friend.

I came to the table then sat down into a chair.

"Hello," I said. "My name is Christopher  Wallis."

In fact, that is the name I still have in this world.

She had blonde hair that was up in a big bun, her lips were rosy red, and she had what seemed to be a item strapped along her shoulder that appeared to be a machine. A shoulder strap purse. How savvy. Across from my left elbow was a old computer screen latched onto the table. There were three levels of the chess board (which was latched on a red plate) that had six glass plates covered in red and black circular chess pieces. It was different from the one level form of chess I was familiar to.

My friend Charlie Evans was the pro at chess.

Me?

I am terrible at it.

"You are the new guy, my name is Robin Nursethenitics." Robin said.

"Really?" I asked.

"No, it is Robin Nurseia." Robin said, sarcastically.

I raised a eyebrow catching that trace of sarcasm.

"Sarcasm is your strong suit, I see." I said.

"You got me." Robin said, leaning back in the chair.

"What's your occupation?" I asked.

"Yeoman," Robin said. Her right eyebrow twitched. "Yours?"

I slid forward the red circular item on the second level.

"Security," I said. "Used to be a  PI."

"Pi. . " Robin said. "It has been centuries since they were used."

"Well. . "  I said, caught apparently. "I pretended to be one in a movie, you see."

'Which one?" Robin asked.

"One that is so terrible it is not allowed to be seen," I said. "Silly plot." I leaned back folding my arms. "And you were lying about being a yeomen." I cocked up a brow.  "What are you really?"

"Marine Biologist," Robin said. I lowered my eyebrow. "I believe there is a civilization in the universe that lives under the water in a place similar to Atlantis."

I eyed at Robin.

"Wow," I said. "'That is interesting. You are really devoted to what is under the water."

"There is even underwater forensics." Robin said.

Yep, that is true in my reality.

I nodded.

"Twice the interest,"  I said. "What is it like searching under water?"

"Fascinating, really," Robin said. "Searching under the murk and the discarded trash . . ." I actually discovered then I was quite interested in hearing stories that involved hands on experience and digging through the murk. I shared some of my own experiences discovering old items by accident using my feet. "What about you? What made you so interested in security?"

I had a short laugh unfolding my arms.

"Protecting people," I said. "Some people recommended to me that I put my skills to use."

I had looked up files regarding my past.

In a mirror, I can see myself: dirty blonde hair, sharp chin, small nose, small birthmark in the shape of a triangle on the left cheek, brown eyes, and thin eyebrows. I had this square jaw since I was a child but that sharp chin didn't go anywhere. To everyone I looked like me. Which was a real relief, really, it turned out that whatever I said about my past (which was a lie) turned out to have happened.

Someone was ever so curiously making every lie I was making turn out to be true.

"Really?" Robin asked.

"I was in Boy Scouts," I said. This is a true story. "The Boy Scout leader lost one of his prized possessions when we were leaving the campsite so I offered to go with him. He at first declined but I said, 'if someone attacks you, don't you need someone to catch the attacker off guard'? I made my point, apparently, as I followed him into the dark forest were there were owls, insects, rats, and you get the idea. I had my flash light out following the young man. I heard the crack of  leaves from behind me. There was the sound of a bird flying overhead that startled me so that I tossed the flashlight."

Robin laughed. 

"Where did it land?" Robin asked.

"I hit the owl," I said. "And the owl attacked me." I shook my head. "I ran after the man's direction after picking up my flashlight."

"Not many people can hit a owl." Robin said.

"I take pride in that." I lied.

"What happened at the end?" Robin asked.

I smiled.

"I kicked big foot's ass," I said.

Robin looked at me skeptically. 

"Big foot doesn't exist." Robin said.

"Well, I don't know who's hairy foot I stepped on and was covered in fur standing seven feet tall," I said. "Perhaps it was a bear. That woulda' mean I have been calling a bear 'big foot' for the past twenty-five years."

Robin laughed.

"That is a funny story." Robin said.

"I wonder what the Boy Scout leader saw," I said. "Maybe it was his butt I kicked."

Robin laughed, again.

"He failed to scare you." Robin said.

I grinned.

"I am the one nobody can scare," I said. "In fact they get instant karma."

Then we had a discussion about karma and numerous other subjects.


	6. The water planet

**. . . One week later . .**

**. . Enterprise . . . 2266. . .**

I was in the transporter room in what is apparently scuba diving gear with a water-phaser. A water-phaser is capable of rippling through the water to strike at the impending target. I never been beamed before. How does beaming work? Does it rip you apart atom by atom? It has been years since I watched the Star Trek movies so I am very afraid of this. Spock and Kirk acted natural. This is my first time.

I got onto the transporter putting the helmet on.

"Energize." Kirk said.

Oh, and yeah, Robin is with us in scuba gear.

My surroundings changed before my eyes followed by a melody ripped out of a musical. I had my googles on, thank goodness, to see ocean blue. Kirk went first heading straight down toward a cavern of some sorts. I followed after the captain's direction along with Spock, Robin, and two other security officers. I looked over seeing a massive whale like shark waving its tail up and down. I turned my head away focusing on the mission in hand. It got dark, darker, and even more darker as we went in. Then suddenly one of us took out a light.  It had to be the Vulcan who was in a blue scuba diving gear.

"Fascinating." I heard Spock.

I saw rows of crystals from the inside glowing because of the light reflection.

I had a bad feeling about these crystals.

Robin went forward towards one of them, however I stopped Robin by grabbing her shoulder.

Robin turned toward my direction with a frown on her face.

"What is it, Willis?"

"I have a bad feeling about these crystals."

"Bad feeling, what kind?"

"That something terrible is going to happen."

"All right, I will be careful. Don't worry about me."

I let go.

"Okay." I said.

"Silly man." Robin said, turning toward the crystals.

Then Blanderish, I believe that is his last name, touched one and then he was stabbed right through the chest by a sharp crystal like thorn. Robin screamed turning away with her face covered in fear. I caught Robin into my arms  as the crystals were all moving in sync. Blandish's body was being devoured it being turned into crystal slowly being dragged inside. There was no response as I shouted his name. Nothing what so ever. There was only silence coming from him but the captain was sending out plenty of orders to escape.

I turned around with Robin in tow.

The hole leading inside the cave was closing.

"Uh, Captain!" I shouted. "It is closing!"

Robin was close to me visibly terrified.

"Beam us up, Scotty!" I heard the Captain.

I watched as the three vanish before my eyes.

I didn't leave.

Shit.

My communicator must not be working.

I quickly swam down the path scared for my life.  I looked over seeing the crystals were moving right in my direction. I hurried fast seeing my surroundings chain for the best. I could see the captain standing beside Mr Spock along with a trembling Robin. Kirk appeared to be concerned coming over to the guy with the curled back brown hair. Scotty. That must be him.

"What is going on, Scotty?"  Kirk asked. 

"I don't know," Scotty said. "The Transporter is not materializin' him."

My surroundings returned to the one in the cave. I saw a flat wall. I had  to place all chances of survival on a flat wall for petes sake. I swam right over to it feeling my skin sweating. I could hear Kirk's voice over the helmet communicator, "We are trying to beam you back, Mr  Wallis." I turned around with my back to the wall watching the crystals coming my way. I could feel my heart thumping against my chest. I could hear my heart race. I then realized my hands were stuck to the wall. It was goo. Strange goo dragging me inside. I struggled only for it to be a complete waste of time. 

I had crystals headed my way and here  I am struggling against nature. 

The crystals poked through my knees. 

Fire. 

Burning pain. 

I screamed. 

"TRELANE!" I shouted. 

"Mr Wallis, we are beaming you up."  Mr Scotty's Scottish voice came over. 

Here I was, crying, wishing for this ordeal to be over. 

"Help me!"  I cried. 

I felt so helpless and in hot licking pain as the murk dragged me in making the crystals slide on out. I had a scream out in pain. The viewing screen of the helmet is covered in black and I knew for certain I wasn't beamed back to the Enterprise. My lights went out. My lights? As in my eyes. I felt like I was floating peacefully in a sea of grass. I had passed out due to the pain. My heart had slowed down. My mood became relaxed. When I tried to force my eyes open they refused to do so probably protecting me for a cruel sight.  

Very impolitely, really.

"Mr Wallis, where are you?" I heard Kirk's voice. 

"Captain?" I asked. 

"We have picked up your signature after 18 hours," Kirk said. "Thought we lost you."

"18 hours and my eyes are still closed, how cheap." I said. 

I forced my eyes open to see little rays of light swamping over my helmet. I was alive. I was alive!

"Do you have any idea where you are?" KIrk asked. 

"No, captain." I said. 

I tried moving my hands. 

No response. 

I tried moving my legs.   
"Ow. ow. ow." I whined. 

"What is it?" Kirk asked. 

"My knees are yet to have recuperated from being stabbed."  I said. 

I tried to lean forward only nothing came of it. 

Where was I?

"We will find you, Mr Wallis," Kirk said. "Just . . . tight .. ."

"Do you mean sit tight?" I asked. 

"Yes, that. . . .what.  . . said . . ." I heard his voice sizzling. 

"Captain, you are breaking up on me," I said. "I can't hear every second word you say."

"Captain. . . . seems. . . . interference. . ." I overheard a woman's voice. 

"Wallis . . ." I heard the Captain. 

"Yes?" I said. 

"Don't . . ." Kirk started. 

Then the line went dead and I was alone.

"Captain?" I asked. "Captain!"

So very alone. 

_Where was I?_


	7. Awake 'n alive

**. . 2266. . .**

**. . . Three hours later . .**

I felt a pair of hands grab me by the hand and drag me out of what could be defined as . . . unknown. I landed on the ground as my chest met the floor. I was turned over to face the one who had taken the time to rescue me out of my possible-death-ground. The pain in my legs had ceased. I heard a familiar voice. I saw the screen be wiped off thanks to a hand.

A young man with light blue eyes looked over me. '

I recognized that young man.

"Charlie?" I said. "Charlie Evans?"

Charlie sighed, relieved.

"You are still alive." Charlie said, gladly.

"How . . . How . . ."  I said, stunned.

"How did I find you? The Thasians told me." Charlie said.

"The . . . what?" I said.

"They . . ." Charlie stopped. "I didn't want to tell you. . ." He tapped his fingers shyly. "Because. . . I escaped their grip ten years ago." He lowered his hands. "You were the first genuine man I came across who liked me and helped me get on my two feet in your reality."

I blinked.

"I owed you," Charlie said. "Because . . .after then, the Thasians were convinced I could take care of myself and integrate with humanity."

"So you never had parents in the first place?" I asked.

Charlie looked over to his right with a well drawn out "Well . . ." .

"I did . . . but they died. . . In a starship crash." Charlie said.

I stared at him.

So apparently a starship crash is equivalent to a car crash.

"What are you?" I asked.

"Part non-corporeal, part human," Charlie said. "I can't age. Ever. I stopped aging a long time ago." He shrugged. "Being part non-corporeal means you don't need anything . . . except. . . my human side has needs. I needed to be accepted. You were the first person who accepted me, you are a life saver, Chris."

I was struggling to get my head around this.

"So you are  a kind of species that is made of coherent gas or energy," I said. "And absorb energy from your environment."

"Correct," Charlie said. "But. . .  I can't as much help you out of this mess. I am leaving that to the inhabitants of this planet."

"What inhabitants?" I asked.

Charlie  sat down to my side. 

"Humans, Chris," Charlie said. "I only made you visible to their eye. I just saved your life. I no longer owe you."

Charlie vanished before my eyes in the blink of an eye.

"CHARLIEEEEE!" I shouted.

I don't know how long I was there.

Seconds, minutes, hours?

I wondered what the crew of the Enterprise were doing. Were they sending a rescue squad down for me? It made me feel giddy to have a search party out searching for me in what is apparently a doorstep that has murky terrible defense systems. I mean being a PI means you have dirty work and there are some house alarms that make the job a pain in the ass but I have my own counter measures for them.  But the point is I wasn't the kind of guy who would get a search party for him.

In my reality?

You are considered dead if you have been missing for more than a day.

The families grieve faster that way and some families refuse to believe. 

That's where I come in as a private investigator.

80% of the time I come back with good news.

20% I come back with bad news

I heard the sounds of boots meeting the ground and a bickering going on.

"I am here!" I shouted. "Over here!"

The bickering stopped.

I saw shadows be bounced off the wall as they came closer and closer. I suddenly had a instinct to run for my life. The shadows terrified me. I wondered what the hell is going on. Suddenly being afraid is not one of my strong suits. I then saw people with gills on the side of their neck with blue skin covered in darker spots, their eyes were glowing a unusual blue color, there was something off about them, and it seemed to appear that they had scales scattered all over their human appealing body.

They tilted their long neck at me.

"Hello," I said. "My name is Christopher Wallis."

The two leaned their heads together and they spoke in a raspiery barely audiable tone.

"Wallis." The second human-merman one said, leaning away from the other.

"Yeah, that's my last name." I said.

The second human-merman picked me up swinging me over his shoulder.

"Hey!" I said. "I am no rag doll!"

 


	8. Comfy cozy

I awoke on a bed that was relatively cozy.

I saw the ceiling above my head had intricate unique sculpted designs that reminded me more of doughnuts made together to make the iconic symbol of the round table along with a light fixture dangling covered in what appeared to be sea-weed almost cloaking the golden metal that had bits of crystal sticking out. I leaned upwards feeling a numbness in my knees. I looked down to see a unusual metal band wrapped around my knee cap with a hole straight in the middle covered by a black dangly mass with white circles seen in the darkness.

Was it a living organism?

Yes, I watched some horror movies and the thought of something eating my skin away taking on the form of what appears to be  SEAWEED!

"Take it off and you are dead." Came a sharp female voice that drew my attention as my hands were outreached toward it.

I froze seeing the most god-appealing women in the entire world right at the doorway. She reminded me of Jasmine from 'Aladdin' because of her hair style and dressware. She had a silver necklace around her neck with a gem positioned right in the center. The item on the necklace? It was in the shape of a heart. A locket with a keyhole. Beside it on the chain was a key. She had on dark slippers. She had long fingernails complimenting her skin.

The only thing I could say at the moment was, "Nice chest."

She didn't seem to be fazed. 

"My name is  Bonyie."

She leaned against the wall with her right elbow. 

"Bonny?" I repeated, puzzled.

That was a unusual human name.

Definitely not alien.

"Bon-yie." Bonyie repeated.

"Bonny." I said, again.

"Bon-yeh." Bonyie said.

"Can I just call you 'Bonny'?" I asked, with a frown.

"I am Bonyie and you will not call me anything else."

"Okay.  . . Bonny," I said. "First off," Bonyie came over to my side on the bed. "I have friends above this planet trying to get me and I would surely appreciate if you could  . . ." Her long fingernails tap along my cheek. "Beam me up."

Bonyie smiled. 

"I have chosen you," Bonyie said. "And we will have marvelous children."

I grabbed her hand by the wrist. 

"Woah, woah, woah," I said. "Hold your horses."

"I don't have horses."

"I am a free man and I can decide what I want," I said. "And I am thankful for your hospitality but there is a place I should be at and this isn't the place!" I shoved her back letting go of the small agile wrist. "I don't belong here!"

Bonyie smiled. 

For some reason I had chills coming down my skin because of that. 

"No matter," Bonyie said. "We can accept you into our society."

I glared right back at her. 

"Are you holding me prisoner?" I asked, pissed. 

"No," Bonyie said. "You are mine and I selected you from the second man who was brought forth by the great wall."

_Blandish_ , I thought. 

"Was he in a red uniform?" I asked. 

"Yes." Bonyie said. 

My eyes grew wide. 

"Where is he?" I asked.

"We fed him back to the great wall where it devoured him, turned his  skeleton into crystal, where it will benefit our environment," She approached me once more with her hips swaying from side to side like a snake. "Yes, my dear, you were in a living being."

I held my hand up. 

"If you didn't chose me, what would have happened?" I asked. 

"You would have died." Bonyie said, quite frankly. 

I leaned back from Bonyie. 

"Dead or not, I rather die as a damn free man," I said. "I refuse your wedding invention."

"Don't you get it?" Bonyie asked, her hands on her hips. 

"That I am a free man taking his freedom over a imprisonment, yes." I said. 

"I own you on this planet. I SAVED YOU and you give me this?" She threw her hands up. "I thought my new husband would be happy that I did."

Bonyie lowered her hands down to her side. 

"I AM NOT YOUR HUSBAND!" I shouted back at her. "I AM NOT INTERESTED IN WOMEN!"

The words were just coming out without much control. 

She narrowed her visible eyebrows at me. 

"OH REALLY?" Bonyie asked. 

Bonyie had her voice be authorial like. 

"I AM NOT INTERESTED IN WOMEN AT THE SLIGHTEST. EVEN THOUGH YOU LOOK HOT I DON'T LIKE YOU HONESTLY."

"THEN WHAT ARE YOU ATTRACTED TO?"

I stopped myself from saying another word. 

I don't publicly admit it.

It is more of a personal and private piece of knowledge. 

"Well?" Bonyie said. 

I refused to respond. 

"Come on, if we are going to have a relationship then we must at least try to make it work." Bonyie said. 

I shook my head feeling it steam up. 

"You are not attracted to women, are you?" Bonyie asked.

I nodded.

"Are you homophobic?"  Bonyie asked, curiously. 

I kept my cool. 

"Come here," Bonyie came closer and then I grabbed her by the neck. "If you dare accuse me of that I will snap your neck without any hesitation, is that clear?" 

Bonyie's pretty face faltered. 

I let go of her neck.

"YOU'RE GAY?" Bonyie cried, staggering back. 

"You said it, not me." I said. 

"I picked the wrong man!" Bonyie cried, then she ran out of the room. "I picked the wrong man!"


	9. A parents fury

It felt like a good hour had passed, maybe more.

All I know is that  I was staring around at the nicely decorated room when a short man with graying hair walked in, well more like trembled in, using what appeared to be a hovering cane uplifting above the ground using some form of anti-gravity. It was odd until I noticed a tube connected to the unusual boots that had a steam-punk style to them. The door behind the floating old man closed. He had crystal blue eyes that were more finer than the other two dorks who found me.

"We . . . do not have much time."

I raised a eyebrow.

". . . For what?"

"We are more closer to it then you can imagine."

"CLOSER. TO. WHAT?"

"Evolution to the next level, you flying insect."

"I don't see how I have wings or four legs like a house fly," I said, fed up with their vagueness in specific. "Spoon feed me this knowledge so I know what the hell you are getting close to!" I threw my hands up in the air. "I have met with more cryptic people than you!"

The old man shook his head.

"We will be leaving our solid states in a months time," The old man said. "Thousands and thousands of years of evolving . . . On our home planet that we respect . . . We are ready to embark on the next level of enlightenment."

I went through my hair using my hand.

"You are irritating," I said. "Explain to me like I were a child."

"My wife was among the first to become a entity," The old man said. "You. . . You have doomed yourself by not allowing yourself a temporary wife and be able to find your way back to your civilization! Even with the punishments that can be carried out on outsiders . . . I have yet to see one crawl on back to become one of us. Which is very impossible. We alone do not know how it begins or how it can be instigated with entity intervention. It comes around naturally for us."

I stared at the man.

"My race evolved from a little kind of monkey into me."

The old man stared at me for awhile.

"How long did your race begin?"

"2,100 million years ago."

"We've been around for 2,500 million years," The old man said. "I guess in a thousand years or so your race will embrace the next step of evolution. . . But perhaps that will take longer for you to embrace IT as it as you did with my granddaughter." His grip around the walking stick grew stronger. "We were willing to help you. Now we cannot."

"Cannot  help someone who likes the opposite gender?" I repeated. "You sound biased."

"Your race refuses to accept help and shortcut to leaving, so now I have to say that evolution will take its toll over several billion years," The old man said. "You are not ready." He started to turn around away from me. Now the way he was acting indicated that a terrible fate awaits me. "You will be dead in a weeks time."

"Hey, I can't read minds!" I said.

"I can read yours," The old man said. "And I will discover what these . . . Cheese puffs are."

I was hungry and thinking of cheesepuffs.

"Uh, so now I am your prisoner?" I asked out in rage.

"Your knees are being healed," The old man said. "That will take a days time. You will be fed. Take care."

"I CAN'T PRETEND I LOVE SOMEONE WHEN I AM NOT ATTRACTED TO THEM!" I shouted back at him.

The marriage would have been a sham.

A fraud.

Fake.

All of the things I do not like.

If I liked her as a person, then yeah I could have gone ahead and gone with the act but I am not interested at the slightest in having sex with them. I found out my . . . little predicament when I was going to a middle school dance. It was . . . The day I discovered something was wrong with me. I hung around the guys most of the time as a boy rather than with the girls. I was so abstinent I was the only virgin boy who made it to high school. Yes, I did befriend some girls but none of them were . . . lets say. . . worth it. Anyway, back to the story. I asked my best friend at the time Craig Patterson to join me at the dance. He didn't care about how it would look for him, and I didn't really think about it thoroughly.

My grandmother acted so causal about the whole ordeal I didn't believe there was anything wrong.

Smile, picture, and off to middle school.

It was a Christmas Dance.

I was a kid when I found myself under the mistle-toe with a girl.  How had it happened? I didn't know but I felt like I should have joined in a innocent kiss but I didn't.  I simply apologized to her then went into the room. I felt like . . .I shouldn't have kissed her. It wasn't my cup of tea I would later learn. I felt uncomfortable kissing a girl. I was no doubtedly confused to why I felt these feelings.

_"What's wrong with you?" Craig asked. "I know something is on you mind and you better spit it out."_

_"A girl kissed me." I said, in a shameful tone._

_"Who?" Craig asked, excitedly._

_"Ashely." I said._

_"Why are you so ashamed about that?" Craig asked._

_"It doesn't feel right." I said._

_Craig raised up his eyebrows._

_"Doesn't feel right?" Craig repeated what I had said._

_"Yeah." I said._

_"Lemme try a experiment," Craig said. "Follow me."_

_Craig took me by the hand over to the open doors._

_"Craig, what are you thinking?"_

_"Its just a kiss, right?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"Let's find out if anything is different, buddy!"_

_And then he kissed me on the lips. I couldn't believe how comfortable and at ease I became shortly after the first few seconds of the kiss. I didn't feel awkward. Perhaps it was because I had been more prepared for the kiss this time around. It lasted for a full two minutes. Craig backed off from the kiss with a smile on his face._

_"So, anything different?" Craig asked._

_"Wow." I said._

_I could see the gears moving in Craig's head._

_"Uh huh," Craig said, delighted. "Merry Christmas, Chris."_

_Craig hugged me, tightly._

_I knew then I was different from everyone else._

For years afterwards I had to be sure of myself about my difference. When I was sixteen I randomly kissed a girl just to see how it would feel. Didn't feel right. Kissed my then still best friend Craig: felt right. When I was a teenager I asked my grandma about what is called when someone likes someone of the same gender.  My grandmother's reply? " _It is called love, Chris_." She had no fine line, as I would learn, so I went over to my grandfather. I wanted to see his reply. So I told him. His reply? " _Christopher, there is no way to put it but you are gay_. _"_ He approached it straight on telling me they both knew of it.

I sighed.

Great, I thought, _what did I get myself into?_

Craig went off to become a marine. But before Craig went off to training, he visited me at my flat and gave me a hug. At the time I was twenty-three. Now? I am thirty-two. I never saw Craig again. Never. Had he died, his parents wouldn't have told me. I was born in December 31st (A Friday) in Missouri in the year 2047. I had no idea  what was going on from the outside of this underwater planet. Were the captain and commander Spock searching around in the murky below?


	10. When determined

There are somethings that are not to be superseded.

"Captain, there is a probability here that we all are going to be killed by this cave," Spock voiced his concern to Kirk. "Fifty-three against one thousand six hundred ninety-four chances of survival if we remain."

"There has to be another way to find Willis," McCoy said. "Not just dying."

Kirk simply swam to what seemed to be a crystal-less section.

"Spock," Kirk said. "What is this?"

"Captain, I highly recommend against touching it," Spock said. "And the tricorder readings. . . nothing. It may be dangerous."

"He is gonna touch it, anyway," McCoy said, flashing his light on the crystal wall where he could see the skeleton of  Blandish. "Oh my god."

Kirk reached his hand out to the mass.

Kirk's hand went inside the dark gray mass.

And he simply vanished into it. 

"Captain!" Spock shouted, sounding panicked.

Spock went after Kirk.

McCoy could notice sharp thorns of crystals headed his direction. Knowing the captain, he probably needs some medical attention or will for that matter! Spock vanished in the dark gray mass.  McCoy followed shortly. Spock took McCoy's hand then yanked him out of the mass. McCoy took off his helmet looking about to see what appeared to be starship wreckage,scuba gear all over the place, devices, abandoned disruptors,Klingon armor covering some of the skeletons, and what appeared to be remains of skeletons joined together by the back. 

"A grave yard. ." Kirk said, feeling disgusted. 

"How long was I in there?" McCoy said.

"Two hours, thirty three minutes, and forty-two seconds." Spock said. 

"And you?" McCoy asked the Vulcan. 

"One hour and two minutes," Spock said. "I was shoved out. .. Strangely. Next I searched for the captain in the mass using my hands which took longer than I thought."


	11. One week after the great enlightenment

**. . . One week later . .**

I had seen a whole room of people vanish before my eyes in a white orb like ball.

I learned something new about myself.

Underwater civilizations are totally not my type.

And that one, day far day, humanity will not become zombies. Some will survive what the universe has to throw at them. This 'some' will multiply eventually surrounding the planet until they go off into space. Sterilization of course would be necessary for those who opt not to have children and strongly determined NOT to have them. This evolution will apply to other races. In a way I learned what fate lies ahead in the next several thousand years for all humanoid organisms. They would become what Charlie was part of.

Countless generations later, though.

My knees were good as new, much to McCoy's surprise with the story I had told him.

I was in the observation deck witnessing stars passing by.

"What was the civilization underwater like?"

I looked over to see Robin in her red uniform coming over to my side.

"Mad," I said. "And very cryptic."

Robin raised a brow.

"Just that?" Robin asked.

"I could not appreciate their culture for what I learned about them," I said.  "They quite literately enslaved outside males into their society and, get this, a few of them tried to rush MY 'evolutionary genetics' by putting me into a pod and be put into a deep sleep for two days! Nothing really happened to me because of it." I shrugged. "Waste of their time."

Robin smiled.

"No wonder your head is a little bigger." Robin said.

I frowned.

"My head is not bigger." I said.

"It is barely noticeable but it is by five inches." Robin said.

I folded my arms.

"Then how come you notice?" I asked.

"Your eyes are larger to accommodate the change and it is . . . barely noticeable." Robin said. 

And she avoided the question.

"So I look the same but different?" I said. 

I really was starting to get annoyed by the phrase 'barely noticeable'.

"Only to those who really pay attention to you." Robin said. 

"Dear god,"  I said. "I am only lucky they changed my appearance not my DNA."

"You never know. . ." Robin said. "You might have a few new things."

The image of me flying in the air superman style appeared in my head holding a rose. 

But I wasn't thinking of that image. 

I realized it was coming from Robin. 

"Yeah . . ." I said. "You might never know."

I am glad my DNA still has the human sequence. 

"What do you think you might have got?"  Robin asked.

"Nothing," I said. "Except for more observant eyes."


	12. Coming across a godly being, again

**. . . July 1st,2266. . .**

It has been two weeks and three days since my arrival into the world of Star Trek. It has been three days since being rescued from these mad evolving sea based humanoid creatures. Robin asked much about them after our first encounter in a week.  She jotted down some of my replies on what seemed to be a ipad but it wasn't an ipad. She referred to it as a Padd. You know, like the thing that woman use on their cycle except there isn't two 'd's in the word..

Now I got ugly thoughts about the whole word 'Padd'.

Every time I used a padd I tried to discard the thought of a woman's pad package seen on the shelf.

One time I went off a case just by following the remains of pad's in a trash can to find a lost sixteen year old girl who went from friends house to friends house (They were all boys, didn't have moms and sisters) away from her abusive parents who did the horrible deeds. I promised her, after a week of chasing, that I wouldn't take the girl to her family. Instead, I would fake her death. I only knew she was being serious because of the wounds that I found which were still healing. She generally was scared about going home. She had bruises on her shoulders, scratches on her knees, and more than once did she get used by her father. I got a Jane Doe's body (who I learned was a homeless sixteen year old girl without family to care about her) who was burned beyond recognition then delivered the bad news to the parents. They wailed, they cried, and acted so sad.

At least the homeless girl was mourned by some-one and buried properly.

You see, that family was a rich one and if I brought her back then the girl would have been dead in a day after telling them they are going to court. That's how life works. Rich people get rid of their own family members so they won't lose out on money, time, and life. I hate these kind of cases because I can't always help them. The first time I came across a case like that, the kid was dead one day later found hanging from the fan even though they had self defensive wounds the case was declared a suicide. I was a PI so I felt obligated to investigate by sending the skin samples and evidence to a local DNA testing lab.

Came back with the father being the killer.

He had scars along his arms.

Sometimes those cases, there was no evidence to tie anyone to the victim's death.

Cut throat clean.

Clean as a whistle.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

**. . 2:48 PM. . .**

There was a planet. A random planet that popped up. So random some of the crew were puzzled and some were not surprised. I heard a story about this planet featuring a guy named Trelane harassing the captain and the bridge crew who didn't have temperature in the fireplace, taste for the food, and generally anything that made it seem realistic.

There was a distress call coming from the planet.

The captain decided to go with Spock, McCoy, himself, me,and ensign Johnny Pavo. 

The planet became clear to my eyes.

"This is Gothos all right." McCoy said, wary.

I look over hearing rustling in the bushes.

"Team, split up," Kirk said. "We must find the survivors."

So that's what we did.

There was a unusual kind of fern all over the place, including a large victorian gray castle, there was not a sign of a starship in sight.

No scrap metal. 

No bodies.

Nothing of the sorts that indicated human life once flourished here. 

The trees, branches, and fallen leaves were a mess for my shoes to trudge through. It reminded me of a never ending forest. I got my shirt caught up with a branch then manage to unhook myself. I continued my search in the fall leaf foliage scenery seen on Earth. But it was summer not fall! This planet must have a screwed up moon orbit or a strange seasonal changing. The leafs were a yellowish tint reminding me of gold contrasting against the blue sky that overtime changed to green. I thought at first there was going to be a tornado but I saw no cloud funnel to be my evidence. I went further and further away from the castle until I came to a clearing. saw a couple trees seen from Africa, patches of brown dirt, and flowers. I approached one flower and smelled it.

There wasn't a smell.

"How peculiar."  I said, standing up right. 

I had been searching for two straight hours.

In a white flash appeared the others who seemed to be fazed and stunned. The captain appeared as though he had been in a fight. The only one missing from the group was Spock. I looked over to Pavo who had his shirt torn at the shoulder and at both elbows the red sleeve was torn.

It became apparent Pavo and Kirk had engaged in a fight.

. . . But why?

"Trelane!" Kirk shouted. "Stop what you are doing with your games, we are through with it!" He sounded very pissed off. "Give back my first officer!"

In a white flash Trelane appeared leaning to his side using a stick and alongside appeared Spock sitting at a table sipping what seemed to be tea. I could smell the unusual aroma coming off it. Spock lowered the tea cup, then said "It tastes better than how it smells, Captain."

"It was a welcome party." Trelane said.

"What kind of welcome party involves turning against each other!" Kirk shouted.

Trelane smirked looking over to me, then his attitude changed.

His eyes widened, his mouth fell open, and his skin turned white.

"Why does this human look as though he is from the future?" Trelane asked, regaining his composure. His skin returned to its usual color.  "He is not supposed to be this way!" I got a picture of a volcano erupting (Which I guess might be from Kirk as he is pissed off) and then I got another image of a universe exploding: _utter catastrophy_. I assume that is Trelane's thoughts. "Oh my. . ."

Several images of question marks appeared in my head.

I am pretty sure that is coming from everyone.

"There is nothing wrong with him." McCoy said.

"If something is wrong with me, Mr so-called-idiot," I said. "Why don't you fix it?"

Trelane fumed.

"I can't fix it because he was meddled upon by the  Castophians!" Trelane did a strange gesture giving Pavo and Kirk both repaired Star Fleet uniforms. I realized then his gaze was stuck on me. "If you die . . . I am afraid whatever future you had is not going to be the natural one. I can't go back in time to fix it. This is a mess! Only Judges can take away this power!" He was panicking at this point. "I must take this to the judges! It has to be undone. This shouldn't be happening to _you_."

Trelane vanished in a white flash.

Kirk looked over to me as did Spock.

Spock now stood upright and the chair and the table vanished.

"Trelane acted like he knew you," Kirk said. "Do you know what he is?"

"No," I said, honestly. "And this is the first time I met him."

Kirk took out his communicator.

"Kirk to _Enterprise_ ," Kirk said. "Beam us up, Scotty."

"Ay, captain." Scotty said.


	13. Questions about a Ensign member

**. . Briefing room. . . June 1st. . .**

**. . .5:49 PM. . .**

The gray room lacked any flavor. The floor color matched the wall. Across from Uhura is a machine at the very right end side of the table with four screens, and across from it is apparently a check register of some kind. There was a elongated long table with several chairs around it (which is where I sat). I walked into the room seeing their eyes were on me.

I came to the far end of the table.

"Let's be frank,Wallis," Kirk said. "Trelane just doesn't pay attention to one human being and overreact because he didn't know him."

"I agree with the captain," Spock said. "His reaction was fearful, scared, and concerned for you. Much like a person who's seen their friend appearing to be in distress."

"Captain . . .  we are not friends." I said.

The rest of the crew members did not seem to be phased by the truth.

"You have known Trelane since you got board this ship and know what he is," Kirk said. "Whatever game he is playing I am not buying it and I need to be given proof that you are not acquainted with this godly entity." He leaned forward putting his hands on the table in a ball. "I can't be sure if you are what he is."

"But I am not," I protested. "I do not even like him! Would a godly being bleed after landing on the floor after accidentally  tripping?"

In the next second I felt sick to my stomach. I looked down toward my free trembling hands that seemed to be peeling off old skin. My whole world froze. Was I become a person with that lizard skin disability? I looked back  up seeing McCoy noting "You never know what godly beings can conjure up. He has the skin of a human and looks absolutely like one." I could see the image of Trelane in my mind coming from everyone. I started to feel something coming up my throat.

"Ex . .  ." I stood up composing myself. "Excuse me."

I turned around from the group hoping I could make it to the restroom. Sadly. I did not.  I vomited what I had eaten for lunch then crash landed to my side on the floor feeling a heavy weight binding me to the floor, I turned over hearing panicked voices. My vision turned green similar to the slime from the goosebumps episodes made in the 21st century. My heart was racing. I couldn't get up. I suddenly felt a inclination to fall asleep.  All in two minutes. 

Just like  that, I was out.


	14. In the pillar of darkness

**. . . June 2nd. . .**

**. . . 2266. . . Enterprise. . .Sick Bay.**

Utter darkness.

Though I could still hear.

"What's happening to him, Bones?" Kirk asked.

"He is becoming a Castophian,"  McCoy said. "His internal organs are reorganizing. Thank god Wallis is not conscious. Jim, I see no signs that this man is really something else. I've checked thoroughly: scanned, probed for any machines on or inside him, and had checked his bio registry. Even with the transformation he is undergoing this is a human being!"

"If he were awake, this transformation . . ." Kirk said.

"Would have been very painful,Jim." McCoy said. "You have to apologize to the boy when he wakes up."

"But how do you apologize to someone who lied about knowing a entity?" Kirk asked.

McCoy paused.

"Jim . . . that is not my place," McCoy said. "You are the captain of this ship."

The two walked away from me.

Now that I get to say it, their footsteps have distinctive differences: Kirk had a confident stride that was slow but flawless. McCoy's stride was more of a 'casual' walker where they have a slow pace. I know this because in my PI days when hiding from the owners of a house, warehouse, and bad guys I usually hide in a dark secluded place where no one bothered to look in. My hearing has been relied on those occasions. Relying on my hearing has actually improved it. It is a skill I have relied on for telling apart the threats. The first time around . . . Nearly got killed by some drug handlers.

I heard the two greet Spock then they departed the room.

Obviously I have shaken the trust of Captain Kirk.

Perhaps even broke it.

I wonder how they saw me land on the floor in the beginning.

I heard Spock's steady bootsteps come to a stop.

"It just occurred to me that you consider Mr Wallis as a acquaintance." Spock said. "Trelane."

 I heard a sigh.

"How did you know?" Came Trelane's voice.

"You were very guilty starting from the moment you looked at Mr Wallis," Spock said. "Since you are overwhelmed with guilt you would logically visit the one you had put into danger. Logically this means you had a part in Mr Wallis being assigned to this ship. You view yourself as a guilty friend. Why did you assign him here?"

"A lesson, Spock," Trelane said, his voice shaky. "I had a talk with the judges and they removed the evolutionary power sequence from his DNA." There was a low sigh from the entity. "But  what cannot be undone is his transformation in this . . . _universe_."

The last part came out a whisper.

"How do you expect the captain to forgive him for lying about knowing you?"  Spock asked.

There was silence.

"'If he is to be in this universe, you must tell me where he is from." Spock said.

Trelane walked over.

"I am afraid I cannot do that, " Trelane said. "Not part of the game rules."

"Then what do you expect him to do?" Spock asked.

"I don't expect him to do anything. I just expect him to accept my apology for not influencing this timeline and prevent it from going to the Casto Three planet."

"It sounds like you would have had his six if you knew." Spock said.

"I consider him more than a toy," Trelane said. "I am trying to make friends. Can I just have that? I don't want to become like my father who lacks friends."

"If you want to have friends,Trelane," Spock said. "You cannot force them out of their universe for a game. You should get to know them and be there for them when they need a friend to talk to. Humans have strange ways of expressing comfort and reassurance . . . As I have learned, they are a fascinating species. I am even friends with many."

"That's because you a mortal," Trelane said, in a whining type of voice. "I am immortal."

I heard a snap of fingers and Trelane's voice was no more.

 


	15. I need a hand

**. . . 2266.  . .**

**. . . June 3rd.  . .**

I was still in the pillar of darkness. I could feel pain in my legs. There are three words  I prefer to associate it with on the scale of pain: twisting, ugly, and blistering. I was very much afraid, not that I have never been afraid.  I could still get pictures from other people's minds. Some of the images were cups of water, a image of me on the bed apparently undergoing a gradual change featuring my skin changing colors (Which was from Robin. That I knew because of the attached sad feeling that was overwhelming.), and another of a smoothie. I didn't have the stomach to eat nor could I get up right and request for a drink to satisfy my drought.

"He is being transferred to a science vessel,Nurse." McCoy said.

So not only am I out, but I can feel pain in my legs and hear conversations.

"Oh." The nurse said.

I then could hear the sound of wheels moving.

Was I on a gurney?

I thought this era was so technologically superior than mine!  Well, not really. That was sarcasm. Gurneys in my era have evolved to a different version of the hoverboard that still need to be handled by people. It is anti-gravity fueled I believe. I just know that much about it including it is state of the art technology. The wheels were creating friction against the floor making a audible low screech.

God, does it hurt to have excellent hearing.

Suddenly I could sense a strong,yet powerful presence nearby.

I saw a picture of myself in my head slowly being reconfigured. My skin was a dull shade of green. My once Caucasian skin that lacked any sort of differences were decorated in seemingly scales. At least there was change in the sad image of myself. I could feel guilt. Now,  I am no empath but this image has a attached feeling.

My right hand shot up then grabbed onto a wrist alongside the rail (the rail is very cold to the touch).

"Doctor, why is his hand like that?" The Nurse asked.

"He is likely having a bad dream." McCoy noted.

_It wasn't your fault, idiot,_ I thought, _It was mine._

Then I heard a voice belonging to  Trelane come into my head.

_Oh yes it is!_ , Trelane insisted, _Don't argue with me._ _Just is!_

_No, it wasn't_ , I thought.

_Let go of my hand_ , _human_ , Trelane thought back.

_No_ , I thought, _I won't._

_You can't hold on forever_ , Trelane noted.

_I can hold on long as I can_ , I related back, _A man's grasp is more sturdier when he is afraid._

At first there was a extensive silence.

I give it five minutes to be exact.

_. . .You are  scared?_ , Trelane finally asked.

_I don't know what a Science Vessel is_ , I replied, _nor am I sure if I am going to be okay or not. I don't know what my future is! I don't like being_ afraid _and_ unsure _! That is just not my style. Like when am I going to be able to be see?_

I felt a hand place itself on my shoulder, reassuringly.

_You lived in a era that was a constant hell_ , Trelane reminded me, _in my humble opinion. It reminds me a lot of the movie 'The Watchmen' except without all that gorey scenes_. I could visualize  Trelane shuddering, strangely, when I didn't know him that well. _Being afraid is your weapon. Your greatest weapon. It forces you to do things you normally would not do. So for here on out: I can reassure you that life will be hell for the rest of your stay._

_That's because I knew my environment and grew up in that universe,_ I replied _, Not this!_

Trelane took his hand off my shoulder.

_Oh grow a backbone,_ Trelane replied _, this universe is not all utopia! In fact it is a lot like your universe!_

_MY UNIVERSE DOES NOT HAVE STARSHIPS!,_ I shouted back strongly this time letting go of Trelane's wrist.

_You've given me bruises!,_ Trelane complained _, I never get bruises!  Bad Chris! Bad Chris!_

If I were in a lighter mood then I would have laughed.

_I didn't even grab your wrist that hard,_ I noted _, you should get out more . . . Pale god!_

_Hey!,_ Trelane snapped back _, I am not pale!_

I recalled the ending of the novel Q-squared that my grandfather read to me.

_How did you get out of time-loop?,_ I asked.

_Depends which one you are talking about,_ Trelane said _._

_THE BOOK, DAMN IT!,_ I stressed.

_Oh, that. It never happened._ I could imagine Trelane flicking away a small galaxy using his fingers _.  Just human madness._

_Trelane, you were utterly defensive about the book,_ I pointed out, _stop lying._

This would be a appropriate time for Trelane to sigh.

Which Trelane did.

_My other father dealt with the other me,_ Trelane replied, _I don't know what happened but I never seen that dark dressed me ever since._

_. . . . Your. . . .other. . . father?_ It was quite shocking to hear it from Trelane. _Are your parents gay or something?_

_WHY OF COURSE NOT!,_ Trelane fumed.

In my mind came a asteroid crash landing into the planet Earth.

_Then why did you refer to him as your other father?,_ I asked.

_Because he isn't my father,_ Trelane replied quite simply.

_I am confused,_ I replied.

_It is simple, really, just to cover up my true heritage until I was old enough. .  ._ Trelane started to explain. _If my heritage were told when I was just a baby then everyone would have looked at me differently and so I would get the biased reputation of my father. However, I was given the chance to make my own reputation!_

_Reputation. . ._ I repeated.

_Yes, reputation._ I could visualize Trelane nodding. _Do I need to repeat myself?_

I visualized a big fat 'no' to Trelane.

_I am not afraid anymore, so take your idiot hand with you and your continuum politics._ I replied in a cool and icely manner _._ _Reputation sounds a lot like political money when you say it._

_Reputation. . . Political money. . ._ Trelane repeated. _I don't see the connective tissue between the two._

Conversing with Trelane has helped me not think about the pain I am experiencing.

My hand fell down to my side off the cold slick metal rail.

The gurney was placed onto a transporter pad. That I knew because of the wheels trembling against the stairs. It is also the occasion where Trelane's presence vanished into thin air. I heard the sound of what apparently is beaming. It was melodical, smooth, cheery, and sounded a lot like someone skillfully played a piano. It occurred to me before I fell asleep that I was no longer on the _Enterprise_.

The last I could feel was the pain in my legs.  
  



	16. So not a science vessel

**. . . June 23rd . . . 2266. . .**

**. . USS Pagemaster (So not a science vessel) . .**

I awoke with a jolt hearing a loud sonic sound whamming the starship. I had to adjust both eyes to my surroundings but not before I fell out off the bed. I helped myself up looking downwards. I noticed I was dressed up strangely like some-one about to learn the ways of the intergalactic ninja warrior. I also  noticed my legs had become double jointed like a werewolf told to kids so they went to sleep.

I felt along the side of my face where I could feel the flat scales beside each other.

I tried to speak but . . . I could not.

Odd.

I should be able to speak right now.

The ship tilted sideways.

What the hell was going on?

I saw a Vulcan, a female no less, grabbing onto the nearest object to keep her standing. She had a rather strong grip attached on the counter of the table. I was getting random images in my head mostly because of the fright that was being stirred in the minds of the other crew members in the room.  The lights flickered off and on. I grabbed onto the edge of the bed using my elongated fingers. The room was trembling. There was screaming! Overall panic I will say to that!

With a loud bang the starship came to a sudden abrupt stop. 

What the hell just happened?


	17. Discussion regarding redemption

**. . . USS Pagemaster. . .**

**. . Briefing room. . .**

"Captain, it seems his vocal cords are . . . well. . . immobilized." Doctor Lupita Connor said.

"Immbolized?" Captain Rosewood Jean Vorn repeated.

"Why yes, and I don't know why." Connor said.

"Interesting."  Vorn said.

"He is a interesting subject," Connor agreed.

"We are stranded ten light years from the Federation and we have a potential threat aboard this ship," Came Commander Richard Wilson, gesturing over to me. "I vote we leave him on a planet with a civilization that better understands his . . ." He snapped his fingers trying to figure what to say. "Uh. . ." Wilson snapped his fingers multiple times. "Physiology!"

I couldn't agree more.

I nodded.

"No." Vorn said.

"But Captain," Wilson said. "Given his history, I doubt that he will not repeat history."

"Why not give him a chance?" Vorn said.

"The last time he was given a chance this man . . . or whatever he is . . .  He held back some vital piece of information."

"I believe we need to give him a second chance," Vorn said. "I requested him on this ship for 'scientific' purposes and see how he works in the field. Now  I believe there might be some use being stranded ten years from the federation.  Perhaps he can redeem himself."

I would have very much preferred dying rather than continue to live in a universe I do not belong.

"Redemption. . ." Connor said. "That makes sense. I believe that will work."

Wilson had his eyes on me, mostly of that in concern.

"So what does that make him?" Wilson asked. "A science officer or a security officer?"

"I want to see how he does being a science officer."

"But he is mute, Captain!" Connor said. "Mutes cannot communicate, so he wouldn't be able to fill that role as dialogue is very important to that sector. "

"Good point,Lupita," Vorn said. "You are going to be in the next landing party,  Mr Wallis."

"I still don't trust him," Wilson said. "What if he backstabs us?"

"Then he will be in the brig until we get back to the federation." Vorn said. 

Wilson smiled. 

"Okay," Wilson said. "Now I am assured."


	18. A change of scenery

I awoke somewhere unfamiliar.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome!" Get a quickly worded man.

I looked over to see a unusual man with black and white hair, he was short,and he had a white lab coat along with brown googles. I raised a eyebrow then get off the table that is a lot like a long cold bed lacking bed sheets as it is metal underneath. Flat metal.  My legs were off balanced and I fell to my knees. My hands landed first on the ground to break my fall. Wait. Why are they not a bluish-green? I held my hands up looking at them puzzled.

They were Caucasian.

"Sorry," The odd man said. "You are very new to this world. . .My name is Zecklini Devruoa."

"Captain. . ." I said. "Captain."

"Oh um," Zecklini said. "Captain is not here, sorry boy, you stuck with me."

I stood up, furious, my hands clenched into fists.

"Christopher Wallis." I said.

"Don't force yourself to speak so many words, Mr Wallis. It will take some time getting to speak."

"Unconstitutional." I said.

"What is?" Zecklini asked, puzzled.

"Here." I said.

"Being stuck is not infringing on your rights." Zecklini said.

I growled which sounded lizard like than not.

What the hell happened?

I stood up closing my eyes focusing on my memory.

"Don't meditate on me!" Zecklini said. "You must observe around your surroundings."

I focused and focused. Eventually all the words coming from Zecklini were turned into silence. _I was back aboard the USS Pagemaster walking down the hallway. I could clearly register that I was very unsure and very concerned about this planet. Mostly worried. It had popped in and out of the radar far as I was told by a fellow crew member being Wilson. It was like it didn't exist for a minute there._

_I walked in through the doors into the transporter room._

_For a moment there I thought I was on the  Enterprise and everyone was not where they were supposed to be._

_Panic, fear, and then realization all in the matter of seconds._

_"Hello,Wallis!" Captain Vorn greeted me._

_I had a short nod toward  the captain then approached the transporter._

_The science officer is Robert Bell Thorne._

_"Oh, so . . ." Thorne stared at me. "That's quite. . unusual. . . for a unnatural man."_

_I raised a brow at Thorne, puzzled, then lowered it._

_I am a natural man turned alien._

_Specifically a Castrophian._

_"He will be occupying us to find a warp based civilization," Vorn said. "Which has stopped contact. We will be going into the city first."_

_"Are they going to scream at him?" Thorn asked, concerned._

_Thorn had the image of people fleeing._

_And then I saw in my mind the image of a scary beast._

_"I am pretty sure if we have any threats coming up,  they will faint at his fierce and intimidating appearance," Wilson said,resting his back alongside the door. "Like how the townspeople reacted to Belle's boyfriend the beast."_

_"Commander, you will be staying," Vorn said. "And you must not insult your way to be Wallis's enemy, as I said before, he needs a blank slate aboard this ship."_

And then my eyes were opened by the sudden sensation of being injected by a needle.

"This is the first time you've resorted to your genetic memory," Zecklini said, as he squirted out the needle with a frown. "This is for your own good."

And then I collapsed to the floor face first.


	19. A unnatural circumstance

I awoke clad in a different attire than the one I had been in earlier. The Star Fleet uniform. It was a gray attire that seemed entirely like one piece, much like a cat suit.  I had on black boots. I had metal fused wrist bands. I was sitting down into a wooden chair. I saw there was basic furniture; a desk, a couch, a bed, a lamp on the desk with a pad of paper and a pen, a trash can beside the desk,and a rug to name a few.

There were a couple portraits dangling on the wall that were beautiful and yet . . . very detailed.

I stood up semi-recognizing a pile of burning books in the painting.

I approached the painting.

I came incredibly close enough I could see buildings that  I once knew before. Buildings I had disregarded in my PI days. Wait, I remember, I used to be a private investigator. Prior to being taken to this time by a godly being. Who was it? The flames were so well done. I squinted my eyes to see a familiar signature. Wait. My hand signature! I was baffled. I stepped back looking around noticing the similarities in the pictures around me. My jaw dropped recognizing the image of Ensign Blandish being killed by a crystal spike. His figure was small and distant in the picture like the viewer was looking down a tunnel. I knew it was Blandish because of the two other figures across from him in very recognizable positions. I was comforting Robin.

I turned to see the third image was that of my bed-ridden body.

"BUT I NEVER MADE THESE!" I shouted.

I rushed out of the door.

Memories came back.

Every single one.

Except for how I got here.

I landed straight into another man and I quickly apologized getting up.

"Why, I am so--" I froze seeing  the man. "Wilson?"

"You bastard." Wilson said.

I took a step to the side letting the man crash to the floor.

"What is wrong with you?" I asked. "What did I do to you?"

"YOU KILLED HER!" Wilson shouted.

"Killed who?" I saw him take out a revolver.

It was almost like time went slower.

"I killed you and I will kill you again for killing my spouse!"

I ducked as he fired then kicked the revolver out of his hand knocking him back against a cabinet. His eyes were full of hate. Hate that I never had seen in a man's eyes. It occurred that something regarding genetic memory and dying is going on. He screamed lunging at my direction. I picked up the revolver then pulled the trigger aiming it right at his chest. Wilson's eyes lost their light and he fell dead to the floor.

I saw a familiar image on the wall across from me.

Of a man.

He held a walking stick.

Who's that?

I should know him.

But I don't recall him.

Zecklini came running down the hall along with a couple other men who looked strikingly familiar. I dropped the revolver then ran in the other direction. My legs had a lot of energy to burn off. I saw a window. I looked over my shoulder seeing the men right behind me. Only one way out. ONLY ONE WAY OUT OF THIS JOINT! I can do it! I can do it! I am going to die! I am going to die!

I leaped through the window then went crashing down what is apparently a cliff side.

"Ah hell." I said.

I outstretched my arm reaching for the  tree branch.

 I held onto hope that  I would make it alive.

My hand grasped onto the hard wooden branch then swung myself onto the top of the branch sliding down Tarzan style. Wow, I still have the adapting kind of swing! I still go it! I shouted, "Woohoooo!" enjoying the breeze rushing past my face. It was like I had been brought into the world of a cartoon. Eventually the wild ride was coming to a end.

A very abrupt end.

Another cliff.

"Ah hell." I said.

I was sent crashed down through the forest getting cuts with sticks and leaves in my hair. I landed right in what seemed to be a village pretty much dizzy. I came to a landing against a wall.  I sat down then closed my eyes regaining my composure. I don't know how long I sat there but it was well enough for me to calm down.

I opened my eyes to see a man who--what the hell.

"Hell--" The man stopped staring at me. "Uh. . . Uh . . . Uh . . ." The man stepped back. "You are not me," His eyes were full of confusion and fear.  It was terror to him.  "You are not me," He stepped back. "You are not me!"

I screamed then fled on foot.

We were the same person, except . . . except . . He had lizard like scales.

I eventually came into what was left of a old building. I came to the corner of the room panting regaining my breath. I looked through the windowless hole. I ducked down once I saw a group of men coming by. I was afraid. So very afraid. What would happen if I got caught? Would I get killed? I was virtually afraid. I wrapped my arms around my knees. I sat there for  god knows how long.

I poked my head out eventually, again, to see there being darkness.

I got out of the building trembling.

The bleeding on the side of my face had long stopped.

I walked out into the ancient scenery.

Then a group of men appeared.

I grabbed a long stick prepared for a fight or that they could be one of Zecklini's goons. I saw that one of the men had on black and red uniform, clearly with hair and a beard. They had on badges similar to the ones I had seen on the uniform for Star Fleet officers. I stepped back with eyes wide. I blinked recognizing the figure.

I recalled the description my grandfather had about a young man from Q-Squared.

It wasn't in the novel because the way my grandfather described him totally wasn't in the writer's voice.

"We come in peace, I am Commander--" The man started.

"William Riker." I finished for him.

Riker stopped, puzzled, raising his eyebrows along with a Klingon.

"And you are Worf," I said. "And you are . . . Oh . . My grandfather described perfectly, Mr Data."

"Who are you and how do you know our names?" Came Worf.

"I . . ." I started to say.

 _"I am afraid I cannot do that,"_ A familiar voice said in my memory. _"Not part of the game rules_."

"My name is Christopher Wallis and I am afraid. . . that I am a clone." I said.

And I strangely felt ill enough to fall straight on the floor letting go of the piece of stick.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"Christopher Wallis died a long time ago," Came a woman's voice. "And he is a clone, Doctor Crusher."

"A clone. . ." Came another woman's voice. "It has never been done before."

My eyes forced themselves open to see plain whiteness at first until the plain yellow scenery came to.

"Hello," I said,my voice sounded horse. "Ensign. . . Security. . . Of The USS _Pagemaster_."

I saw  a red head and a young Asian woman exchange a shocked look.

"Are you sure?" The Asian woman asked.

"I am . . . positive."  I said.

"There is no such thing as the USS _Pagemaste_ r." The Asian woman said.

"Yes, there is!" I shouted. "I . . ." I could feel my throat was dry. "I am a clone. I am a clone.  I have been cloned. I have been cloned. We were stranded ten years from the federation. 2366. Captained by Rosewood Jean. . . Vorn."

I closed my eyes wincing in pain.

"Why was I cloned? Why?" I asked. "Why?"

The doors opened to reveal young Riker and a guy who was bald. 

The bald guy on the bookcover.

"Captain," Crusher said. "This clone is dying."

"I am Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the--"

" _Enterprise_. . ." I said. "I know. . . I want you. . . to please . . . Tell me the _Pagemaster_ made it back to the federation."

The captain appeared to be puzzled.

"There was no Pagemaster."

"Captain Rosewood Jean Vorn."

"Rosewood. . . He died in 2269 due to a Klingon attack."

"No. . ." I said. "This isn't . . .real. ."  I looked over toward the captain. "I am not . . making this up."

"How long have you been on the planet?"

"I was just. . . awoken. . ." I said. "It has occurred to me that . . ." I briefly closed my eyes. "That I was on a planet going through the space time continuum.  . . Do you know. . of. . . Q?"

There was dead silence in the room.

"Yes."

"He has a son."

The captain appeared to be surprised.

"He has a son?"

I weakly nodded.

"His name. . . is Trelane. . ." I cleared my throat. "He brought me  . . . to this. . . universe."

"Why?"

"The first question he ever asked me."

"Which was?"

"Do you want . . . to be. . . my friend?"

"And what did you say?"

"No."

I closed my eyes and I entered into darkness. My life ended there.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

I awoke clad in a different attire than the one I had been in earlier. The Star Fleet uniform. It was a gray attire that seemed entirely like one piece, much like a cat suit.  I had on black boots. I had metal fused wrist bands. I was sitting down into a wooden but chipped chair. I saw there was basic furniture; a wooden desk, a tan couch, a bed, a lamp on the desk with a pad of paper and a pen, a metal trash can beside the desk,and a unusual colored rug to name a few.

There were a couple portraits dangling on the wall that were beautiful and yet . . . very detailed.

I recognized every one of them.

Then  Zecklini entered the room.

"Hello, Wallis," Zecklini said. "This is your new home."

"This isn't my new home."  I said.

"Yes, it is, and your life depends on staying inside this facility." Zecklini said.

I leaned forward with a growl.

"I prefer to die a free man." I said.

I paused remembering something. 

_"This planet is very weird, captain." Wilson noted._

_"It is," Vorn agreed, then he flipped out his communicator. "Johnny, beam us up."_

_I stood there anticipating to beam up but I didn't._

_"Glad to see that my tinkering worked." Zecklini said._

_I looked over toward Zecklini then search around for my communicator._

_"I destroyed it," Zecklini said. "While you were . . ." Zecklini pressed a button with a grin. "Out of commission."_

_I glared at Zecklini with a growl._

_"Don't growl at me, mr poopy face," Zecklini said. "It is not my fault you are interesting and very unusual."_

_I took out my phaser._

_"Now, don't do that!" Zecklini said._

_I pressed the trigger._

_Nothing happened._

_"I told you not to," Zecklini said. "Oh, they'll be back, trust me and by the time I am done with you. . . I won't be needing you anymore. I will have my own line of specimen . . . and this planet will be populated by my own utopia."_

_No!_

_I felt dizzy._

_I had drank something._

_Something that wasn't what I had been told earlier._

_"Nighty, night, alien." Zecklini said, in a creepy voice._

I growled back at Zecklini.

"Where is the original?" I asked.

"The original is dead for all I am concerned," Zecklini said. "You are a fascinating subject, Mr Wallis, in either time and space. I mean this planet is so unpredictable that a landing party would find it difficult to prosecute me for illegal cloning!"

I grabbed Zecklini by the neck.

"How long?" I asked.

"Ninety-nine years for you," Zecklini said. "Five thousand years for me," He grinned. "You heard me right. I am the original and so very much alive, your friends can't help you. If you leave this planet. . . You will die. If you will leave this facility, you will die. If you go outside the perimeters around this facility you will die. You will die without proper knowledge to ensure your survival."

"What are you?" I asked.

Zecklini smiled.

"I am a human," Zecklini said. "Advanced, more advanced than any other version out there."

"How many times has this happened?" I asked.

"Twice. . . I am surprised," His eyes were daggers of hate. His words were dripping in a cruel tone. "I thought I had gotten rid of the disobedience gene and self will. You were supposed to stay in this room, not move a inch until I came in, but _nooo_ you had to get out and shoot another clone and die!" Zecklini sounded so bitter and disappointed. "I believe he was called Wilson."

I threw Zecklini to the ground.

"YOU CLONED ME AND THE ENTIRE CREW?" I roared.

"In exchange for the original, why yes," Zecklini said. "They refused to leave without you. . .Don't you realize? You have been dead for a year. The _Enterprise_ has long left. I brought you back and treating me this way is your worst mistake. I have paired you up plenty of times and I always get a mix-breed, no fuss, no arguments, no fights, no rebellion, and nothing like you are!"

My hands clenched against my palm so much so that my fingernails coulda' pierced through drawing blood.

So contrary to the constitution.

Treating me like a piece of property.

"I am a American," I said. "A freely living being with entitled rights!" I stepped forward. "You have infringed on them in every single manner possible. I wasn't able to speak when you first abducted my original self and I represent every clone out there who don't know the truth." I paused. "Did you pair me up with women?"

"Yes, almost always."

"Almost?"

"You one time fell for the engineer and didn't procreate. Neither did he! I didn't understand what  was wrong. He was supposed to procreate. . . But no, you had to settle down with a man and neither of you cheated! CHEATED! That happened the first time around I made the clones. You both died as oldies. . . Well, of course I sent them out into shuttles far away when they were young men and when they returned. . . their bodies remained. Including very detailed logs. I was surprised they survived for years in space encountering other races.  And coming back to finish the journey? That was so unexpected."

"What was his name?"

"Johnny, I believe."

"You asshole!"

I punched Zecklini sending him down.

"You lied to me  that if I leave this planet that I will die and apparently there is a different cause!" I said.

"That was only after I put some certain restrictions and made them dependent on their environment." Zecklini said, rubbing the side of his face.

"I will not rest until every clone knows they are a clone." I said.

"Warn a entire populace that their nation originated from clones?" Zecklini asked. "I don't think you want to do that."

"Oh, give me a good reason why not." I said.

"They are your great descendants and I engineered them to be perfect. Utterly perfect. Flawless." Zecklini said.

"Has it not occurred to you that . . . .Life will find a way?" I asked. "Like it did for me? I am not flawless." My fingers rolled up into fists.  "I am not perfect." I went toward the door keeping the anger to myself. "Unlike what you think I am. . . I am no monster. I am no caged specimen. I am no murder. I am a American."

I opened the door then exited it and slammed it behind me with a hard thud. I put a chair underneath the handle to prevent it from moving. I was going to reveal to everyone walking around that they were clones. Funny thing it reminds me of a movie made decades ago featuring Tom Cruise about clones and this entire fictional paradise island that really was death for the clones. I stepped back listening to the door rattle. I turned away hearing a familar voice from behind my shoulder. I saw there being a man, the same man from the transporter room. He had freckles, black hair, and a unusual face that made me wonder if if his original self hailed from the Philippines.

"Johnny?" I asked.

"Yes?" Johnny said.

"Who am I?" I asked.

"You are that lizard guy, and please, call me John. Johnny is a nickname. Only my friends call me Johnny." Johnny said.

"You are a clone, John," I said. "Everyone here are clones!"

John raised  a eyebrow.

"'What?" John said.

"We were cloned. We all dead. Our original selves are likely dead, damn it!" I said.

"Okay, now you lost it, lizard man," Johnny said. "You should see the doctor."

"LET ME OUT!" Zecklini shouted.

"Hey, that's the Doctor--"

I punched out Johnny  then I ran down the hall. Whatever happened next was a blur. I found myself in what appeared to be a laboratory with chemicals inside viles, machinery with glowing red insides burning intensively. I had been running and going into random rooms during my flee to not notice where the hell I am. I saw that the door was locked. I also noticed 'dangerous chemicals and connective facility core'. So it is connected to several facilities in fact.

If the captain had originally allowed everyone to be cloned, perhaps he was assured the action taken by the Doctor would be undone by some sapient clones in the future. It was bound to happen. I saw several buttons aligned on the wall underneath words representing the facilities. I pressed numerous of these button doing hell knows what. Then the room turned red. 

"Self destruction will be imminent."  The computer wailed. "Please evacuate."

I shoved the viles off the table. 

I could smell the odor to these viles contents melting the floor and densing the air. 

I went out through the other door into a room. 

A room where there were plenty of tubes holding completed and developed people. 

"What . . . the. . . . hell?" I said. 

Some of them were children. 

Children first. 

I smacked the red button to every machine with children. The children were sucked out of the container where they landed in a pool of water curled up in fetal position, naked. I forced them up telling them, "I am saving your lives!" Some of these children appeared to be strange. Some had pointy ears, a few had ridges on their forehead, and other unusual specific facial features but the majority were humans. Let them be damned for being outside dying  not just because they were supposed to. Maybe these are different genetically created children. We speed out of the building. The vast group they were. 

I held the hand of the smallest boy while holding the little girl in my other arm.

We came into the forest where we could hear explosions all over the place. 

I came down to my knees feeling a sudden weakness in my chest. 

"'Are you okay?" The little girl with black eyes asked. 

They were purely black. 

They were not dying.

I was. 

"Do you feel all right?" I asked. 

"Yes." The little girl said. 

"I want you to know. . . The Doctor . . . is a evil man . . ." I said. "Older man. Crazy, eccentric, and a very big ass-hole." I put my back against the tree bark where  I could see due to the gap of the trees of a familiar shape. One I had seen mostly on TV. I smiled. "It hasn't been a year." I could see the little girl was changing colors becoming transparent as were the rest of the children. "My name. . . is Christopher Wallis. Thirty-two. Assigned. . on the USS. . . _Pagemaster_."  

The little girl held my hand. 

"Hello, Christopher Wallis," The little girl said. "You are safe now."

"No. . . You are safe now," I said. "I . . . Did it." 

As my scenerys changed and the ground trembled where smoke was coming out of the ground (where a majority of the children had vanished),I thought of how well I had just blown up the most clone inhabited planet. It had to be logical that I blew up a planet. The leaves were burning. Trees were falling  with a loud crack. I closed my eyes feeling  myself getting weaker and weaker. 

"I redeemed myself,Captain Kirk."  I said. 

And then I died.

 


	20. A familiar perspective

Cloned.

I wonder what is going to be occurring with my eventual clones.

Being cloned is essentially a hard thing to get over.

I had been awake for the majority of it.

My brain patterns.

My brain anagrams.

All of which were forcefully copied through means I cannot start to explain. I still have the scars on my shoulders and along my head. I was staring out the window at the observation room. It felt like someone was inside of me when really there wasn't. This man . . . named Zecklini had ran several tests. My fingers were still recovering from the burns left by the cigarette like devices. I won't allow a man to do that to me again. I can't . . . Not right now . . . Trust another man with my body.

I felt like so intruded.

Equivalent to what happens to a woman when someone has used her body.

"Perhaps one day all those clones will die," Vorn said, across from me. "And the doctor will be prosecuted."

I rubbed the side of my shoulder.

"I know 'If the planet pops up in the Alpha  Quadrant and we are still around'," Vorn said, stepping forward. "If you need a friend . . ."

I shook my head.

"Time to recover from a experience that had no consent is hard." Vorn said.

I looked over toward Vorn.

"Our procedure was different, painless," Vorn said. "Unlike yours. . . I heard you went through the actual procedure."

I turned my head away.

I wasn't human. 

That is why it was painful.

"Mr Wallis," Vorn said. "We can only hope he will never do it again."

I had a sigh.

If only I could speak and say, 'Yeah, right.'

Vorn left me.


	21. The huge epilogue that skips.

"Why,hello there,how's it going losing everyone you cared most deeply to a fire?"

Being half alien means incredible strength and a lack of speaking.

'YOU!' I mentally screamed reaching my hands out toward Trelane.

The year was currently 2305.

I had spent the better part of my existence redeeming myself taking care of a aging Admiral Vorn. We didn't need to speak with one another to get across what we needed or wanted to say, we could see it in each others eyes. You see in 2272 the captain and I were stranded on a planet that allowed him to see my real form. Needless to say Wilson got pissed off later that he looked better than me and round up being murdered by the natives during our escape.

Arrow to the forehead.

In those ten long years that passed I got to know Trelane a little more better than I had. Trelane didn't tell me what he was so I respected his privacy. Maybe, perhaps, we developed a little friendship. Enough to share information that hit him hard. One day Trelane came into my quarters, his hands on his face,sitting down in a chair,his cheeks stained by tears, and his eyes red. I was confused why he was so sad.

Two weeks later I learned that Trelane witnessed the death of his father.

An event of his father's future and a event in his past.  That's what he explained it as.  But it still hurt him.  It pained him to know his father had died in a manner he refused to talk about as though it would disgust me. I saw Trelane mature over the years into a rather unique man, true, he did pay ten visits to us (but maybe a little over a thousand visits to me) of the crew.

His father was still out there, making his life personal history, and his death hadn't happened.

 _Yet_.

Trelane stepped to the side missing me by little over a inch.

"It is about time I get on track with this lesson," Trelane said, his tone different to the one he usually spoke in. "Take comfort that they died by smoke inhalation and not being _burned_ to death!"

I heaved myself up.

'You bastard!' I replied, in rage. 'You are still pissed off over those books I burned!'

Trelane shook his head.

"I am teaching you a life lesson," Trelane said, looking over to the house flaming in and out. "A life lesson that you should appreciate." He laid his gaze on me. "You have entirely missed the point of living in this life."

'Oh really, what's the point?'

"Hate gets you no-where."

"Huh, why didn't you tell me before?" I heard my own voice.

"Try to remember the death of Wilson."

I gasped.

"I can speak."

"Oh, I know,have been able for the past hour."

And I simply exploded.

"YOU STARTED THAT FIRE," I shouted. "I TREATED YOU AS A FRIEND, AND THIS IS WHAT YOU DO?"

"WILSON DIED BECAUSE HE HATED YOU AND HE WAS TRYING TO LURE THE NATIVES TO YOU WHILE THE CAPTAIN WAS OUT IN THE CAVE. SO YES! I AM PROVING THE POINT THAT IF YOU BURN EVERYTHING THEN YOU BURN _LIFE_. YOU HAVE BURNED YOUR OWN FAMILY, IN THIS WORLD, BECAUSE OF YOUR HATE. HATE KILLS, CHRIS!" Trelane shook his fist at me in anger. "You were in a fan fiction novel set in the past where Mirror Captain Kirk and Mirror Commander Spock were flung into this universe,struggled to adapt, became a family, and in all that time they learned they didn't need to assassinate each other to climb up the ranks. They didn't need to hate everyone because of what and who they were! At the end in 2293, as old men, they went _home_! To their universe."

"And what does that have to do with me?" I asked.

Trelane sighed, in frustration.

"I am trying to _help_ you, you little stubborn fool who does not dare to talk bout his sexuality! You know that you _CAN_ come out of that closet!" Trelane pointed out in my direction. "Your grandfather _loved_ you. More dearly than those books. He used them as his crutch, and you? You were his reason to live another day." His hands curled up and I could see a golden graduation ring  with a red gem on his finger. "You know what. . . IT'S _YOUR_ FAULT HE DIED. YOU WEREN'T THERE FOR HIS FINAL DAYS. YOU WERE ESTRANGED. HE COULD HAVE SAID TO YOU THAT HE LOVED YOU TO YOUR FACE BUT NO, YOU HAD BETTER BUSINESS TO DO BY PRETENDING TO BE ' _BUSY_ ' THAT DAY. HE SAID TO THIN AIR 'I love you,Chris' AND DO YOU KNOW HOW HEARTBREAKING THAT IS? HE COULD HAVE LIVED FOR ANOTHER DECADE, BOY! _YOU BROKE HIS HEART_."

I stepped back, trembling.

The words were daggers to me.

"No, he didn't." I said.

"Oh, yes, the hell he did. I visited him before I visited you. You treated your grandfather worse than I treat mine," Trelane lowered his hand. "Now let me show you something that else that comes out of this universe."

Trelane flipped his hand. 

We reappeared in a bridge that was different and everyone was frozen in time.

"Look," Trelane gestured over. "There is a good chance history, in your world, could become similar to The Federation." I saw a golden tinted man sitting in a chair in front of a LED screen and his fingers were seemingly heading to one option. There was also a empty chair in between a woman with dark eyes and a man with a well trimmed beard. "Data, android; Deanna Troi, Bestazoid, William Riker, you know who he is. And there," My eyes rested on the figure well described in the novels my grandfather read. "'Worf."

He flipped his hand and everyone vanished.

"I want you to realize there are consequences for burning books. Books bring families together and bring friends as well, you could have sold them online," Trelane said. "You could get a thousand dollars _easily_ from these books!"

"Trelane, that is enough." Came a man's voice.

I saw a man along with the bald guy.

"Father, I am just wrapping this up." Trelne said.

"That is enough," Q said. "You should not have stepped in."

"I am sorry for my friend's intrusion," The bald man said. "Captain Picard. You are Christopher Wallis, I met one of your clones."

Q stepped forward with a dead set serious face approaching Trelane. 

Trelane glared at my direction. 

"You _cloned_ yourself?" It was more of a growl coming from him. 

"I really hope you get whatever comes to you." I said.

Trelane froze time, however, Q was caught up in it somehow.

"That makes total sense," Trelane said. "Let me give you the memories of all the lives you could have lead and I want you to see how fascinating, beautiful, and amazing how life is living in my world."

I was unable to move as Trelane put his hands on the side of my head where sharp hot radiating pain channeled through my mind. I could feel a pain, strong, brutal force that intrusive and invasive. It was most like someone breaking down walls. It was a lot like a Vulcan doing a mind meld. Wait, oh yeah, I have seen scenes in those Star Trek movies where Spock did a mind meld. Then. . . I saw memories. Crystal clear. These memories were not mine. They didn't originate in this universe but they all went in several directions. Many of which showed numerous paths I could have taken in this world: continue to serve the _Enterprise_ , become captain of the _Pagemaster_ , befriended Doctor McCoy, and . . .wait. . .what? I saw a memory of me sleeping with Trelane.

What.

The.

Hell!

I fell back on the floor in horror staring at the godly being as in my head were memories. So many memories that could only be eased and healed through the passage of time.

"These are the many lives you could have lead, Christopher," Trelane said. "Yes, at one time I did par-take in a relationship with you but it was more so of your insistence that I slept with you and it was fairly odd for me. I still wonder to this day why you bothered picking me!" He appeared to be rather clueless. "Do you see all the lives you have touched? All the ones you have saved in this and all the timelines you have lived? Do you see how they burn because of you? Do you understand that hating a series for being someone's comfort blanket is stupid and you need to get over that?"

I was frozen staring at him.

"I won't allow time to pass unless you answer my question, Mr Wallis."  Trelane said.

"I. . . I understand." I said.

"Good, at least you are not going to have any  Vulcans in your timeline." Trelane flipped his hand.

"Trelane, you are going straight back to the continuum and . . ." Q looked over toward me and his face turned into anger and he turned his head toward Trelane. "HOW DARE YOU MIND RAPE HIM! THAT IS A CRIME UNDER THE CONTINUUM RULES! You have crossed a line, Trelane!"

"Not like you do all the time!" Trelane shouted back.

"Not. like. this." Q looked over toward Picard. "Thank you for bringing my attention to this, Jean-Luc, everyone will be back where they belong shortly." He turned his head toward me. "My sincerest apology." He glared at the direction of his son. "The judges will be having a word with you."

* * *

In a white flash I found myself in the chair watching a extinguished firing flamed pile of books staring right back at me. I came down to my knees on the grass and cried into my hands feeling like I had been an idiot. What had I really done? Hate my last living relative away and all those who I befriended. Except. . . Except Charlie Evans. 

I could feel a gentle throb in my head.

I had to go to bed and rest this off.

I found a long tree branch on the ground and used it to help me walk back to the door. I was a mess. I could feel trillions upon trillions of memories, or what felt like it, resting below my skull. I had no idea becoming Trelane's friend would end up with this. I couldn't believe Star Trek lead me down this path. I could feel a barrier between my original memories and my not-of-this-universe memories.

I collapsed to the bed dropping the stick and fell asleep.

Thank god it is all over.

**The End.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About time I finished this short story. I decided to stop idling on it and finish it as it was going no where and I hadn't been giving it my all. So I went with the most suitable ending I had been playing around in my head and tackled the ending. I decided to incorporate burning in the way Trelane would have seen it into the beginning of the novel so the point comes clear to Christopher. 
> 
> No sequels are intended for the moment. 
> 
> Thank you for reading.


End file.
